Electronics Apple overhauling its 30 pin connector - Page 10

Deberg_1990 · 08-14-2012, 11:18 AM

Only Apple.....

http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/14/app...8TechCrunch%29

What happens when you change one port? Quite a lot, actually. Apple introduced the 30-pin iPod port on April 28, 2003. That makes the technology – a fairly streamlined solution for 2003 – nine years old and, thanks to the iPhone’s popularity, essentially ubiquitous. Now, however, as news leaks about either a 19- or 9-pin overhaul of the technology, there’s something important to consider: the install base of 30-pin devices is wild and deep and a simple change could create an e-waste problem if not properly handled.

To be clear: this new pin layout is coming and it’s coming soon. Whether it arrives in this generation or the next still remains to be seen, the sources I reached out to agreed that the switch was imminent.

Apple has sold over approximately 610 million devices with a 30-pin dock connector. There are no hard numbers on iPod dock sales available, but analysts estimate $2 to $3 billion in sales on iPod accessories per year. These are back of the envelope calculations, but assume a fourth of those are $100 docks – some are less, some are much more. That gives us about 5 million docks a year over nine years. That’s 45 million devices in essentially perfect working order that will be partially obsoleted by this move.

“Just imagine how many hotel rooms are fitted with alarm clocks that have a 30-pin dock connector,” said Arman Sadeghi, CEO of AllGreenRecycling, an e-waste handler. “Doing away with the 30-pin dock connector without developing any kind of backwards compatibility option would cause millions of pieces of accessories to become obsolete prematurely. Currently, there are tens of thousands of different devices such as chargers, alarm clocks, docking stations and other devices that work with the 30-pin connector. If this connector was replaced, it would cause a slow but very steady flow of those items coming out of use and into the ewaste stream.”

In short, Apple would relegate a great number of iPod docks to the scrap heap. Arguably, the vast majority of users, especially users using more expensive docks that connect to home entertainment systems and speakers, would invest in a small adapter that will convert a 30-pin jack to the smaller model, but a fraction of those will relegate those old docks to the junk pile. Once the 30-pin is phased out, however, there’s the secondary problem of obsolete iPods.

“The obvious problem will be with people throwing out old accessories but there is another issue as well,” said Sadeghi. “The value of Apple devices with the old connector will drop as well which will cause a large wave of those items entering the eWaste steam as well. iPods and other small devices that people have had for many years will start becoming less desirable in favor of newer versions that will have the same connector as their new iPhone. This effect may, in fact, prove to be a bigger generator of eWaste than the obsolete accessories.”

This sort of move isn’t new, but I suspect that this might be the first major mass exodus from one port architecture to another since serial connections gave way to USB and even that move took years to complete. Apple is notorious for railroading users into technologies although they usually pick the tech that eventually proves to be the winner (there’s a reason there weren’t Compact Flash card readers on earlier MacBooks before the addition of the SD card slot.) Where Apple is at fault is in the speed with which they’re going to push this through. They will sell millions of iPhones and millions of adapters, and the new port will also revitalize the stagnant accessories market. But it will also encourage long-time users to “upgrade” their docks to support the new standard (or at least spend $10 on a compatible adapter).

It’s also not Apple’s fault that accessory makers hitched their wagon to the Apple star. There was and is a lot of money to be made. But this change will change things considerably and the trash and recycling it will generate is has the potential to be more than impressive.

The real impact can be seen as negligible. Docks are made of plastic and a few magnets. In a perfect world those docks would end up at an ewaste location where they will be recycled into new products or they will end up in the garage sale and secondary market, used by millions who just don’t want to or can’t upgrade.

But in a world of increasingly scarce resources, it’s an interesting thought exercise to see what a minor change in on port on a popular phone can do to an entire ecosystem of accessories. Apple is lucky that an industry made hardware solely for their devices. Now we’re about to see what happens when that industry – and the consumers who bought into that constellation of accessories – suddenly has to shift direction.

**Saulbadguy** · 09-14-2012, 05:54 AM

PRETTY BIG CON HERE:

They are charging $29 for an adapter. TWENTY-NINE ****ING DOLLARS

Also, not guaranteed to work with older dock speakers. I mean. What?

**007** · 09-14-2012, 05:56 AM

Of course they are. It's their way.

DaveNull · 09-16-2012, 09:04 AM

Quote:

People keep asking why Apple didn’t opt for the micro-USB connector. The answer is simple: that connector isn’t smart enough. It has only 5 pins: +5V, Ground, 2 digital data pins, and a sense pin, so most of the dock connector functions wouldn’t work – only charging and syncing would.

- Source

**Dave Lane** · 09-16-2012, 09:09 AM

I don't give a shit and I'll pre-order my iPhone 5 today. I like the iPhone for alot of reasons but jailbreak/free apps is the biggest reason to me.

**AustinChief** · 09-16-2012, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveNull

- Source

Jesus. NO. USB 2.0 has 5, USB 3.0 can have 11. You'd think the author would check shit like that. FAIL

**Baby Lee** · 09-16-2012, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinChief

Jesus. NO. USB 2.0 has 5, USB 3.0 can have 11. You'd think the author would check shit like that. FAIL

That post has a bajillion edits already and remains full of fail.

It's the KC Chiefs of Mac blog posts.

Zebedee DuBois · 09-16-2012, 04:05 PM

Well, I am finally entering the smart phone world. I ordered 4x iPhone4 for a dollar each and got them to waive the activation fees. yeah..2 generations behind. I simply do not care.

**BigMeatballDave** · 09-16-2012, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

jailbreak/free apps is the biggest reason to me.

If you like that, why not Android?

There is FAR more development out there for Android.

**Dave Lane** · 09-16-2012, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

If you like that, why not Android?

There is FAR more development out there for Android.

Do they have a jailbreak to allow getting paid apps free? For testing purposes of course.

**AustinChief** · 09-16-2012, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Do they have a jailbreak to allow getting paid apps free? For testing purposes of course.

We call it ROOTING not jailbreaking.. since Androids don't start out in "jail" like iPhones do.

And Android has a far higher percentage of free apps to begin with.

htismaqe · 09-17-2012, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinChief

We call it ROOTING not jailbreaking.. since Androids don't start out in "jail" like iPhones do.

And Android has a far higher percentage of free apps to begin with.

I was going to say. I have dozens of free apps on my Androids, including the 1 that isn't rooted (it's my work phone).

-King- · 09-17-2012, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Do they have a jailbreak to allow getting paid apps free? For testing purposes of course.

You don't even have to root the phone to get free paid apps. Just download the apk file online and install it.
Posted via Mobile Device

Great Expectations · 09-17-2012, 08:07 PM

What are the chances of bricking it when rooting?Drinkel gonna get his swerve on.

Shag · 09-17-2012, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinChief

Jesus. NO. USB 2.0 has 5, USB 3.0 can have 11. You'd think the author would check shit like that. FAIL

The iPhone 5 is only USB 2.0, so technically, it's correct. Whether they should have gone with 3.0 is a different story...

**AustinChief** · 09-17-2012, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shag

The iPhone 5 is only USB 2.0, so technically, it's correct. Whether they should have gone with 3.0 is a different story...

Well not really. He is talking about the usb spec not being able to handle certain amperages or not having enough pins. Neither of which really would be dependent on actually utilizing USB 3.0 just utilizing the connection form factor and the charging spec.

08-14-2012, 11:18 AM
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3944454	Apple overhauling its 30 pin connector Only Apple..... http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/14/app...8TechCrunch%29 What happens when you change one port? Quite a lot, actually. Apple introduced the 30-pin iPod port on April 28, 2003. That makes the technology – a fairly streamlined solution for 2003 – nine years old and, thanks to the iPhone’s popularity, essentially ubiquitous. Now, however, as news leaks about either a 19- or 9-pin overhaul of the technology, there’s something important to consider: the install base of 30-pin devices is wild and deep and a simple change could create an e-waste problem if not properly handled. To be clear: this new pin layout is coming and it’s coming soon. Whether it arrives in this generation or the next still remains to be seen, the sources I reached out to agreed that the switch was imminent. Apple has sold over approximately 610 million devices with a 30-pin dock connector. There are no hard numbers on iPod dock sales available, but analysts estimate $2 to $3 billion in sales on iPod accessories per year. These are back of the envelope calculations, but assume a fourth of those are $100 docks – some are less, some are much more. That gives us about 5 million docks a year over nine years. That’s 45 million devices in essentially perfect working order that will be partially obsoleted by this move. “Just imagine how many hotel rooms are fitted with alarm clocks that have a 30-pin dock connector,” said Arman Sadeghi, CEO of AllGreenRecycling, an e-waste handler. “Doing away with the 30-pin dock connector without developing any kind of backwards compatibility option would cause millions of pieces of accessories to become obsolete prematurely. Currently, there are tens of thousands of different devices such as chargers, alarm clocks, docking stations and other devices that work with the 30-pin connector. If this connector was replaced, it would cause a slow but very steady flow of those items coming out of use and into the ewaste stream.” In short, Apple would relegate a great number of iPod docks to the scrap heap. Arguably, the vast majority of users, especially users using more expensive docks that connect to home entertainment systems and speakers, would invest in a small adapter that will convert a 30-pin jack to the smaller model, but a fraction of those will relegate those old docks to the junk pile. Once the 30-pin is phased out, however, there’s the secondary problem of obsolete iPods. “The obvious problem will be with people throwing out old accessories but there is another issue as well,” said Sadeghi. “The value of Apple devices with the old connector will drop as well which will cause a large wave of those items entering the eWaste steam as well. iPods and other small devices that people have had for many years will start becoming less desirable in favor of newer versions that will have the same connector as their new iPhone. This effect may, in fact, prove to be a bigger generator of eWaste than the obsolete accessories.” This sort of move isn’t new, but I suspect that this might be the first major mass exodus from one port architecture to another since serial connections gave way to USB and even that move took years to complete. Apple is notorious for railroading users into technologies although they usually pick the tech that eventually proves to be the winner (there’s a reason there weren’t Compact Flash card readers on earlier MacBooks before the addition of the SD card slot.) Where Apple is at fault is in the speed with which they’re going to push this through. They will sell millions of iPhones and millions of adapters, and the new port will also revitalize the stagnant accessories market. But it will also encourage long-time users to “upgrade” their docks to support the new standard (or at least spend $10 on a compatible adapter). It’s also not Apple’s fault that accessory makers hitched their wagon to the Apple star. There was and is a lot of money to be made. But this change will change things considerably and the trash and recycling it will generate is has the potential to be more than impressive. The real impact can be seen as negligible. Docks are made of plastic and a few magnets. In a perfect world those docks would end up at an ewaste location where they will be recycled into new products or they will end up in the garage sale and secondary market, used by millions who just don’t want to or can’t upgrade. But in a world of increasingly scarce resources, it’s an interesting thought exercise to see what a minor change in on port on a popular phone can do to an entire ecosystem of accessories. Apple is lucky that an industry made hardware solely for their devices. Now we’re about to see what happens when that industry – and the consumers who bought into that constellation of accessories – suddenly has to shift direction.
Posts: 66,914

09-14-2012, 05:54 AM	#136
Saulbadguy When a nightmare becomes real Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $2726966	PRETTY BIG CON HERE: They are charging $29 for an adapter. TWENTY-NINE ****ING DOLLARS Also, not guaranteed to work with older dock speakers. I mean. What? __________________ http://www.goemaw.com
Posts: 46,964

09-14-2012, 05:56 AM	#137
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $14060126 VARSITY	Of course they are. It's their way. __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,554

09-16-2012, 09:09 AM	#139
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	I don't give a shit and I'll pre-order my iPhone 5 today. I like the iPhone for alot of reasons but jailbreak/free apps is the biggest reason to me. __________________ Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more.
Posts: 40,584

09-16-2012, 04:05 PM	#142
Zebedee DuBois Veteran Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: floating in a tin can Casino cash: $2005199	Well, I am finally entering the smart phone world. I ordered 4x iPhone4 for a dollar each and got them to waive the activation fees. yeah..2 generations behind. I simply do not care. __________________ What am I even doing here?
Posts: 3,743

09-17-2012, 08:07 PM	#148
Great Expectations MVP Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Joplin, MO Casino cash: $13802338	What are the chances of bricking it when rooting?Drinkel gonna get his swerve on. __________________
Posts: 7,212

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